Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been elected the new chairperson of the African Union (AU).
Mugabe took the rotating chairmanship of the pan-African bloc Friday at the opening of the 24th AU summit at the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, Xinhua news agency reported.
Mugabe took over from Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who was elected AU chairman at the 22nd AU summit in January 2014.
Mugabe is one of the oldest rulers in Africa. He became the prime minister of Zimbabwe in 1980 when the British colonial rule ended. Since 1987, he has been the president of the country.